Original package.



W. A. RiCHTER.

ORIGINAL PACKAGE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28. 1916.

Patented May 29, 1917.

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WILLIAM A. RICHTER, OF NEW.Y0.RK, N. Y.

ORIGINAL PACKAGE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1191?.

Application filed November 28, 1916. Serial No. 133,845.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. RICHTER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Bronx, county of Bronx, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Original Packages, of which the following is a specification.

l/Vhile applicable to the packing of various commodities for transportation and sale, my invention is particularly adaptable to the packing of cigars for retail in such manner that the original package cannot be re-used, so that a customer is guaranteed the genuineness of the brand purchased.

The invention consists in the specific construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, distinctive features being the method and means employed for mounting and securing the cigars in place in the container or box, and for facilitating their detachment and removal as well as the removal of the supports etc., all as hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a top view of an open cigar box with cover broken away, showing cigars packed for retail trade according to my invention;

Fig. 2, a longitudinal section taken upon plane of line 22, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, a transverse section taken upon plane of line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. at is a top view of superposed end portions of a shelf, tray, and retaining strap;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the end portions of a shelf broken away centrally, and showing the retaining strap prior to the insertion of the cigars;

Fig. 6 is a side or edge elevation of opposite ends of a shelf section.

I herein show and describe my invention as applied operatively to a box or container for cigars, with the understanding that other articles of commerce may be thus packed to advantage, such as confections, vials or tubes of perfumery, medicinal preparations, or other commodities of uniform size and shape. Hence the reference letter a, while applied to the representations of cigars in the accompanying drawings, is to be construed as designating any vendible article of manufacture adapted to be so packed.

The box B may be of usual simple structure, as the ordinary cigar box. My pack- E, ing appurtenances or accessories comprise g shelf members 8, tray members If, and retaining straps 1". Of these the shelves 8 and trays t are preferably made of relatively stiff thin cardboard, while the retaining straps r are preferably made of paper of lighter grade but of sufficient strength and tenacity to hold the cigars or other commodities a firmly in place until wanted, the quality of the straps r however being such as to admit of their being readily severed transversely to release a commodity a.

The shelves 8 are as long as the interior length of the box B, and are formed with upturned flanges s, by means of which they are attached to the inner sides of the end walls 6 of the box B, by means of a suitable adhesive, as for instance glue. They are of less width than the box, and are positioned centrally therein, or substantially so, so as to afford finger spaces 7 between their longitudinal edges and the adjacent sides of the box.

The trays it may be of less width than the shelves, and are preferably flat, flangeless sheets of cardboard. To their upper sides are attached, preferably by means of an adhesive, as glue, the retaining straps 1', the latter being formed into loops 1" between the transverse lines of attachment 1. These loops are of course proportionate in size to the cross area of the cigars or other commodities which they are to accommodate; and said articles are inserted in the loops 1" before the tray 25 is inserted in the box and attached to shelf 8.

Thus, for instance, in the packing of a box with cigars as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, a shelf member s is first positioned centrally and longitudinally upon the floor of the box and its end flanges s, s, cemented or glued to the end walls I), b of the box B. Then the central part of the shelf 8, thus placed and secured, has glue or other adhesive applied to its upper surface and before the adhesive has time to dry or set, a tray 25, fully charged, with a cigar ineach of its retainer loops r, r, is positioned centrally and longitudinally on the shelf .9, the adhesive on the upper surface of which adheres to the under surface of the tray t, thereby fixing the latter in position and incorporating it, to all intents and purposes, with the shelf, so that both become, temporarily at least, component and integral parts of the container B. Next another shelf 8 is placed to rest on the tops of the retainer loops 9, r of the tray L, just placed and secured in the box as above stated, the flanges s, s of this second shelf 8, being in turn secured to the end walls 6, b of the box 13, the adhesive applied to the upper central portion of said second shelf 8, and another tray 25, likewise loaded with a row of cigars, is then made to adhere to this second shelf 8, after which a third shelf is placed in position on top of the second row of retainer loops 1", and secured by its flanges to the box ends, and so on until the box is full.

The retaining loops 7", 1" are so made that the medial portions of the cigars it therein snugly; and said loops are positioned so closely with relation to each other that when filled there is little or no space be tween them, and hence no lateral looseness or play of the cigars, which, of course are held as heretofore against longitudinal movement by the front and rear walls Z), 5 of the box B. Hence the cigars are held firmly in parallel alinement and there can be no dangerous attritive movement or play of one cigar against another, they being separated the one from the other by a double thickness of paper,i. 6., by a double thickness of retainer strap r, at the sides, and by the superposed thicknesses of the tray t, and shelf 8, below and above, excepting only the top row which has no shelf and tray above it, and only a single thickness of retainer strap 1*, on top.

In order to facilitate the removal of the cigars individually I form the top of each retaining loop 1", with one or more weakened lines of prescribed severance r preferably with two parallel rows each as inclicated in Figs. 1, and 4:, of the drawings, so that a central strip 7 may be readily removed transversely from the strap 9", and from the top of the loop 7*, to release the cigar; and to further facilitate manipulation I partly sever one end of the strip 1" from the strap 1, forming a tongue r which may be readily grasped between the thumb and finger to effect the removal of said strip r 'By my construction and arrangement of parts a simple, non-refillable, original package may be produced with little labor and expense, since the shelf members .9 are easily positioned in and secured to the box by their flanges s and the loaded trays t, as readily positioned on and secured to the shelves 8. This combination of shelf 8 and tray t is a distinctive and important feature of my invention since it would not otherwise be practicable in a commercial sense to secure a loaded tray in position within the box, for the reason that if attaching flanges were formed directly on the tray itself the latter and the box would both have to be made considerably longer to afford space for effecting the attachment of a loaded tray, as obviously the tray can not be loaded (that is the cigars can not be inserted in the loops) after the tray has been placed in and affixed to the box. Furthermore the charging of the trays t, before insertion in the box, facilitates the operations of packing of large quantities of goods, since the iiisertion of the cigars or other vendible articles a, in the loops 4, may be accomplished expeditiously either manually or by machinery; and in this connection it may be noted that the loosening of one end of each loop 1 by the formation of the tongue 1 of the severance strip r facilitates the insertion of the article a into the loop from that end thereof.

I thus provide for the safe packing of various vendible articles a, of uniform contour, in a simple and inexpensive way, and in such manner as to render fraud or deception practically impossible, since it is necessary to destroy each retaining loop before the article can be removed therefrom, thus protecting the retail customer, and in the case of cigars the Government also, since this form of packing is a guarantee not only of the brand but also of the fact that the tax has been paid thereon and that a sale is legal.

As each row of articles is disposed of the tray and shelf emptied may be easily removed without injury to the remaining goods by reason of the longitudinal spaces f, f, left on either side of the shelves,this being the main object of making the shelves 8, and trays t, narrower than the box B. The retaining straps 1" are however made sufficiently wide to prevent all possibility of the removal at an inclination of an article from an intact loop even from the top row in the packed box, so that there can be no' substitution even when the box is first opened nor thereafter.

As ordinarily used the box B is of elongated rectangular form, but not necessarily so as for some vendible goods square boxes might be provided, so that I do not limit my invention in this respect.

I have herein described the shelves as.

glued to the box ends, but other means of securing them in position might obviously be resorted to without departing from the spirit and intent of my invention in this respect.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. An original package of the character designated, comprising a box, shelf members formed with flanges by which they are secured to the inner walls of the box, and tray members secured to said shelf members, each tray member being formed with a retaining strap having loops formed for vendible articles which are positioned on the tray before its insertion in the box and its attachment to its supporting shelf.

2. An original package of the character designated, comprising an elongated rectangular box, longitudinal shelf members of less width than that of the box, formed with end flanges by which they are adhesively secured to the end walls of the box in a centralized position with relation to the side walls thereof, longitudinal tray members of no greater width than the shelf members and adhesively secured to the latter, each of said tray members being formed with retaining loops for vendible articles which are inserted therein before the insertion of the tray into the box and before its attachment to its supporting shelf.

3. An original package of the character designated, comprising a box, shelf members formed with flanges by which they are secured to the inner walls of the box, and tray members secured to said shelf members, each tray member being formed with a plurality of retaining loops for Vendible articles, and each loop being formed with an opening strip by weakened lines of prescribed severance, for the purpose described.

4. An original package of the character designated, comprising a box, shelf members formed with flanges by which they are secured to the inner walls of the box, and tray members secured to said shelf members, each tray member being formed with a plurality of retaining loops for vendible articles, and

each loop being formed with an opening strip by weakened lines of prescribed severance, and each opening strip being formed with a loose end, for the purpose described.

WILLIAM A. RICHTER.

Witnesses:

DOROTHY MIATT, GEO. WM. MIATT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

